ICJ genocide case ‘flawed and unfounded’: Myanmar govt
An international court case alleging Myanmar committed genocide against the mostly Muslim Rohingya minority is “flawed and unfounded”, Yangon’s foreign ministry said Wednesday.
In a statement published in a state newspaper, the government called on the International Court of Justice to “reach its judgement based on fact and settled law strictly within the framework of the Genocide Convention”.
ICJ judges are hearing three weeks of testimony, which began in The Hague on Monday, as they weigh accusations by The Gambia that Myanmar committed genocide against the Rohingya in a 2017 crackdown.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims fled violence by the Myanmar army and Buddhist militias, escaping to neighbouring Bangladesh and bringing harrowing accounts of mass rape, arson and murder.
On the first day of the hearings Gambia’s Justice Minister Dawda Jallow told the court the Rohingya “have been targeted for destruction”.
Lawyers for military-ruled Myanmar will begin their court response on Friday.
“The allegations made by The Gambia are flawed and unfounded in fact and law,” said the Yangon foreign ministry statement, printed in the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper.
“Biased reports, based on unreliable evidence, cannot make up for truth,” it added.
The country -- ruled by a military junta since a coup in 2021 -- was co-operating with the ICJ “in good faith” in a sign of its respect for international law, it said.
The statement did not use the word Rohingya, referring instead to “persons from Rakhine state”, adding it was committed to their repatriation.
The Rohingya are not recognised as an official minority by the Myanmar government, which denies them citizenship and considers them Bengali interlopers, despite many having roots in the country stretching back centuries.
Today, 1.17 million Rohingya live crammed into dilapidated camps in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh.
Myanmar has always maintained the crackdown by its armed forces was justified to root out Rohingya insurgents after a series of attacks left a dozen security personnel dead.
The Gambia, a Muslim-majority country in west Africa, is taking Myanmar to the ICJ, which rules in disputes between states, alleging breaches of the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.
Under it any state can haul another before the ICJ if it believes genocide is being committed.
Legal experts are watching the proceedings as they could give clues for how the ICJ will handle similar accusations against Israel over its military campaign in Gaza, in a case brought by South Africa.
A final decision could take months or even years, and while the ICJ has no means of enforcing its decisions, a ruling in favour of The Gambia would heap more political pressure on Myanmar.